"No, Auden, just stay home. I can handle it from here," Vegeta found himself saying for the third time.
Vegeta had been poring over the document that Auden had given him and even he didn't know about everything that was covered there. If he somehow thought Bulma was pure and innocent before, this was strong evidence that she wasn't. Either that or she had no idea what CC was into and that seemed out of character for her. She was able to afford her family a high level of prestige and safety because her company—which was now Trunks'—had nearly every single key person in their pocket and a foot on their necks. There was evidence of election meddling, corruption, and putting their competitors out of business to ensure that they remained a monopoly. With CC around, it would be difficult for any other business in technology to have a strong foothold and if they did, CC was there to snuff them out every time. Bulma was ruthless if she didn't have an issue with any of this. He shouldn't have been surprised. It would take a woman like that to give him the time of day.
All this talk about him becoming a "better" more "civil" person and it seemed Bulma hadn't changed at all. These things mentioned in the document were ongoing and recent. He wondered if Trunks even knew. He wondered if he should show him. He certainly didn't want to show Bulma and risk it all being mysteriously erased. Then again, she'd be up against Auden himself if she really wanted the whole thing to disappear and something told him that Auden was well versed in keeping things hidden. Bulma was a brilliant scientist, but it was very likely that he was far more proficient with computers considering how easily he was able to find all this highly classified information.
It was better that they continued being open and honest with one another. It would feel like he was going behind her back if he showed Trunks before her. Of course, there was the added benefit of knowing that the document would likely be safe if Auden had the original. There was another thing—he'd told Auden that he would only show Bulma relevant information about Jensen. Well, he had to keep his word…
Auden called him with the final piece of the puzzle—Malachi. To be honest, investigating CC was a red herring, but one would have to go down all avenues to arrive at the correct one. Vegeta had rightly assumed, however, that CC would never put its founding family in danger. Auden was not too certain of that which made sense since he was someone from the outside looking in. From Vegeta's understanding, Dr. Connor Murran became obsessed with Malachi or had always been obsessed, Vegeta wasn't sure, and then was able to analyze his bloodwork in which he found several curious anomalies which he did several experiments on. After realizing the potential of his findings which could enhance human capabilities, he decided to produce a new drug which was purported to increase energy levels. He tried over and over again to get it approved by the proper overseeing entities that ensured quality and failed each time. It was an unstable substance with questionable results. Then he took things into his own hands and hired people to discreetly distribute his new drug into various manufacturing hubs which eventually made it out to the masses. Jensen was taken so that he could obtain more data since he was Malachi's direct heir, and likely had similar anomalies.
Dr. Murran had clearly lost his mind and he was Malachi's personal physician. That fact raised a lot of red flags in Vegeta's mind. He had his own private lab out in the middle of nowhere on the tip of a peninsula not far from West Capitol. This was likely where he had Jensen held, drugged and unconscious and ripe for experimentation. Seemed, after Malachi's death, his tendencies to bend the rules had only gotten worse. Vegeta would simply take Jensen back. As for the doctor, well, there were some questions that he wanted to ask him, but after that, he didn't really care. He supposed the correct thing to do would be to get the authorities involved to take him to jail, but…that would probably get pretty messy and outside people might start digging in the wrong places. Bulma would hate that. Perhaps it was better just to eliminate him.
He was still on the phone with Auden trying to convince him that he didn't have to do anything further, but the man wouldn't take no for an answer. He was obviously quite passionate about all of this and Vegeta didn't blame him. Vegeta just didn't see why he needed anyone else's help.
"I didn't tell you all of this just so you can go and leave me behind. I have a few questions I want to ask the doctor."
"So do I."
"I didn't put everything into that document, by the way. Of things I wasn't sure about, I kept it out. I could confirm other suspicions I have about him."
"It's obvious that he was the one who had your daughter killed. You don't need to ask him about that." He'd stated that rather plainly and he wondered immediately after if he was just a little too brusque.
"Yes, I know," he snapped. "There are other things I want to ask. Are you on my side or are you trying to get in my way?"
Vegeta paused when he asked that question. It felt almost pivotal this moment. If he was ever going to gain his trust, then he had to trust him in kind. He wasn't sure if training him was still even on the table, but this likely would bring him closer to a time when he might agree.
"Fine," Vegeta said, "I'll take care of Jensen and you can deal with the good doctor."
"It'll take me a couple hours to get there, but I plan on leaving now."
"I'll see you eventually then."
Vegeta wouldn't be waiting for Auden to arrive. He was certain he could get everything done in a matter of minutes. He could even take care of the doctor as well. It was tempting, but he knew that would ruin any sort of progress he'd made with Auden. It would be a shame that someone with ki on par with that of a Super Saiyan and beyond never realized their full potential. Of course, he was human and there was no way that Auden wouldn't tire out first before accessing all of his ki. That would always be an obstacle for any human—how long could their bodies holdout in the presence of ki? Vegeta often took it for granted that one's ki matched the wearer's ability to bring it forth and maintain it, but apparently that wasn't the case. For Malachi, his lack of ki held him back. For Auden, an overabundance of ki became too overwhelming to properly use. There seemed to be an imbalance and it was naturally occurring among humans. The ones who didn't have that problem suffered from mediocrity and would reach a plateau that they could never breach which was the case for all the other human warriors he'd known.
Vegeta sped off into the sky towards the lab. It was situated on a strip of land that rose into a steep cliff that dropped sharply into the surrounding ocean—an oceanfront lab. Admittedly, it was a relaxing setting for such a despicable place. He'd probably chosen it on purpose because it was so isolated, and he could go outside to destress. His time of stupidity was now coming to a close. Vegeta would make sure he wouldn't be able to continue his half-baked experiments. He could sense one person inside. That was likely the doctor. Very faintly he sensed another and it was likely Jensen. He was clearly still unconscious. Their locations were far enough part that he could deal with them separately.
Vegeta strolled right through the front door and made his way down pristine halls, and lab rooms. He found a room in the far back which seemed to be the right one. The door was closed and apparently unlocked since he turned the knob with ease. He expected to see a bed and Jensen hooked up to machines. Instead, he found a large cylindrical metal container with white strips on the top and bottom portions. A keypad sat in the front that slanted up into a bright LED screen.
"Great," Vegeta said under his breath.
He had no idea how it even opened. Would destroying it be sufficient or would he be putting Jensen's life in danger in the process? He stepped over to the terminal and began pressing the arrows to see what changed on the screen. There seemed to be different modes of reading vitals. Judging from those measures, he appeared to be in an induced coma. The more menus he parsed through, the more he just wanted to rip it open. There was an unlocking mechanism, but it required a code. He didn't feel like trying to get it out of the doctor.
He stood for a while indecisive, all the while making sure the doctor was still far enough away. He pressed a few buttons to look at other options when the screen suddenly locked and an alarm went off. With a groan, he turned as he heard the door from before slipping open—security bots. They were of the same model that Bulma had created for his training. They'd simply been repurposed. He shouldn't be surprised since Bulma had long since put these out on the market for certain vendors, but it was disconcerting nonetheless seeing something that he knew that she'd worked on helping to keep Jensen locked away in a metal container.
Vegeta took them out with ease. A few ki blasts later, they were sputtering on the floor. The doctor, however, was moving away rapidly. He ran through the building and found his fleeting form.
"Sorry, doctor, but you're staying right here!"
The man gasped as he turned to his voice and he stumbled and fell. Vegeta took his time walking to him as the doctor scrambled desperately to get back to his feet. He was a little overweight and he was quite scared—a terrible combination if one was trying to get away quickly. Vegeta pounced on him just as he was able to get to his feet and swiftly knocked him out. He pulled the man over his shoulder and looked for a suitable room to store him. Obviously, it wouldn't be lab, but somewhere small and insulated—an office. He found one eventually and set him in the chair. Then he searched around for some string or rope. He made do with some surgical string and tape and began to secure him tightly to his rolling office chair. There was no way he'd be able to get out on his own unless he was some kind of escape artist and that was highly doubtful.
Meanwhile the alarm was still going off and Vegeta had no idea how to turn it off. The sharp noises were just starting to give him a headache. He grunted in discomfort. He blasted each visible sound device until the flashing lights were no more. The alarm was likely still going off though. The terminal for the metal container holding Jensen was still locked. He wondered how he'd tripped the alarm.
Auden would be here eventually. Vegeta realized that he actually needed him if he was going to do things safely. If he could hack into CC's secure databases, perhaps he could do the same thing here. Instead of Vegeta taking care of things as he'd pictured in his mind, he found himself having to wait. He stood out on the edge of the steeply inclined piece of land, watching angry waves crashing into the bluff, but never quite reaching over the edge.
Vegeta actually had no idea how close Auden was and his impatience was mounting. He grumbled to himself as time began to drag on. Eventually, he sat down and closed his eyes attempting to calm himself. It was always a fruitless task for him. He was never quite calm. He was always on edge at varying degrees. He'd lived a lifetime always wondering what was just beyond the corner, or what was just out of his senses, or what could possibly surprise him. It was etched into his brain always keeping his senses sharp, always searching for any noise, smell, or presence that was out of place. Being still and quiet only led to more stress yet he would sometimes try at times like these to relax. After a while of failing at that activity, he rummaged through the lab gathering important looking paper and putting them into a pile. One by one, he investigated each room meticulously, taking any pertinent documents and material. He went over it a few more times. Once he was done, he used a capsule to store everything. At some point, he checked in on the Dr. Murran who was futilely struggling at his bounds and desperately trying to speak through the duct tape over his mouth.
"Hang tight, doctor. I'll deal with you later."
The man looked like he was about to cry, and he made more indistinguishable noises.
"Your experimentations are over, and I'll be taking all your findings and placing them into more capable hands."
The man became louder, but Vegeta ignored him and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him for added effect. He began pacing through the lab and pausing in the room holding Jensen for longer periods of time. He did this until he heard a rapidly approaching vehicle far off down the road.
"That better be Auden."
He stepped outside and zeroed in on the car getting closer and closer. With crossed arms he waited by the main entrance. Hidden beneath his somewhat hostile expression was relief. He wouldn't have to drag Bulma out here and the doctor was moments away from getting his just desserts, if not from Auden, Vegeta would finish the job.
He listened as the car parked as close as possible and then his footsteps moving closer crunching on the gravel.
"Auden," Vegeta said when he was within earshot. Icy blue eyes looked at him intently. "I need you to look at something first before dealing with the doctor. He's already tied up in his office."
"Saves me the trouble of having to do it."
Vegeta snorted at this, "You'd probably have no clue how to do it properly. Follow me."
"I could've made an educated guess," he replied slightly miffed as he followed him.
Vegeta led him down the hall passing the office holding Dr. Murran. It didn't escape him that Auden instinctively looked over to the precise door he was being held. His ki senses were razor sharp considering he'd never met the doctor before, and his signature was so faint. Auden likely already knew where Jensen was.
Vegeta brought him to the terminal which had been locked before. After a while, the alarm turned off and the screen went back to normal. He hadn't touched it again since then just in case he accidently did irreparable damage.
"Can you unlock this thing?"
Auden was already pressing buttons on the pad and the items were already moving too quickly on the screen for Vegeta to even begin to figure out what he was doing.
"Hm, AT Security Systems—pretty basic for a top-secret lab. It was heavily marketed to those who couldn't afford anything too fancy," he said almost to himself. "And it hasn't changed much since back then when I used to steal Wi-Fi from my neighbors."
His fingers moved rapidly until a brief pause as the screen was showing some sort of blue progress bar.
"Should be fine now. At this point, the facial recognition won't start up. Otherwise, we'd be locked out for a couple hours."
"So that's why the alarms went off like that," Vegeta said thinking back.
Auden glanced over at him amused. "You tried a bit of freelance hacking on your own?"
Vegeta scowled at him. "Why the hell would anyone need that for someone who's already unconscious?"
"He was probably being overly cautious, but the way all these security systems are forced down people's throats he must have thought he had a desperate need. In this case, I guess he was right considering what we're doing now."
Once the progress bar hit 100%, a hissing sound could be heard along with white mist seeping from the opening doors of the pod. Jensen was inside with eyes closed and strapped tightly around his neck, arms, hands, and torso. Vegeta made quick work of the straps much to Auden's surprise. Soon, he had the child in his arms.
"I'll take him back home. Don't engage with the doctor until I get back," Vegeta warned Auden who nodded quickly.
"I'll wait for you. I have to get my thoughts together anyway."
"And here I thought you had this all planned out."
"I don't," Auden admitted as he stepped away from him. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm glad you're here."
"Well, don't do anything stupid."
"I'll try."
Vegeta couldn't read him as usual but there was certainly something different about him, something looser, something unpredictable and dark hiding under the surface. Vegeta took off quickly with Jensen in tow. He couldn't afford to leave Auden to his own devices for long. He was liable to do anything. Along the way, he called Bulma and told her that he'd found Jensen, but he still needed some medical care and for her to prepare a bed for him. By the time he got home, everything was setup, and everyone was relieved to see him again. Bulma had brought her grandparents, Pan and Bra along too to be there when he stepped down in the place. Jensen would be in good hands. Bulma would call in one of her trusted at-home nurses to look over his vitals and bring him safely back to wakefulness. He suddenly wished he could stay longer knowing he'd be missing something that they were doing together as a family and it was nice to see just how accepted Jensen was despite his penchant for staying away from the house, but he had to leave. He had to get back to the doctor. He had to finish things for another member of the family who had been lost for too long.
He sped back off into the skies and arrived at the lab in record time. It had been twenty minutes tops since he'd left. When he walked in, he found Auden waiting near the door Dr. Murran was being held.
"That was faster than expected," Auden commented upon seeing him. "I guess flying has its merits."
"Are you ready to get this over with?"
Auden looked at the door as if trying to burn holes into it. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"You plan on killing him, don't you?"
He looked at him with some surprise in his expression, "Yes. After we're done with him, I don't see why he should keep on living."
"You're going to attempt to kill him and then choke at the last minute—I've seen it happen too many times."
"I don't see myself doing that—in fact, it seems like the most straightforward part of this whole thing. Interrogations on the other hand—not so easy."
"I know your type."
"Do you?" he said amused.
"Someone who follows orders and plays by the rules, always trying not to upset people until someone shows them that none of that matters in the grand scheme things—shitty things happen to everyone. You snap. Then you want to take your newfound anger out on something convenient only to realize that you've never killed anyone before and it's a far greater task then just imagining it in your head."
"Very specific type. It doesn't quite describe me."
"So you've killed someone before."
"No, I haven't."
"And yet you think it's so easy to pull off. You have no idea what it would feel like."
"I'm hoping it would feel satisfying."
"But it won't. You'll immediately feel guilty about it. Even I hesitated the first time I was made to take someone else's life and I grew up in a culture in which that was permissible. In fact, it was expected of me. You would do far worse than me especially since you've lived in such a civil society."
"Perhaps you don't fully understand what it means to be 'civil'. It means that we're all pretending everything is alright when it isn't. We suffer in silence and watch as the pain slowly eats away at our sanity. We hold back our emotions and allow the system to take care of things for us. We watch silently as society begins to rot from the inside and watch others die in their secret depression and pain. And we watch as a select few take advantage of it all. We're all just seething under the surface only one tragedy away from exploding."
Vegeta studied his expression closely as he spoke, but still he remained neutral though his voice trembled a little with subtle anger. Perhaps civility wasn't as nice as it sounded at times and perhaps he didn't notice it living in his ivory tower with Bulma all the time.
"Even still, that does not prepare you for what you're about to do."
"And who was your first kill? Was it someone responsible for murdering your family? Did the person singlehandedly take away your reason for living or snatch away the one thing you thought you'd done right in life, the person who'd been there longer than anyone else, the person who you cared deeply about over all others?" he asked heatedly.
His eyes had gotten a little watery and he looked away as if embarrassed to let anyone see.
"No," Vegeta said after a moment. "Perhaps there wasn't so much on the line."
He sniffed and then quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve before chancing a glance his way. "Then maybe your assessment is tad bit inaccurate."
Before Vegeta could respond, Auden opened the door and stepped into the room. To be honest, Vegeta wasn't so great with interrogations either. Since these things tended to happen in times when he was quite emotional, he always ended up killing the person before getting useful information. Maybe it was better leaving it in Auden's hands. It was so easy for Vegeta to finish him off that he was struggling even now to not just blast him to death in that moment especially being in the same room.
Vegeta leaned on the wall near the entrance in full view of Dr. Murran. Auden took it upon himself without being told to snatch off the duct tape from the man's mouth. The doctor cried out in pain until Auden gave him a sharp slap across the face—that shut him up quickly. It's almost like he's done this before…Auden hadn't even said a word yet. He leaned on the desk with his hands pressed against the wood directly in front of Dr. Murran sitting down. Then he brought his arms up to cross them. A full minute passed, and nothing further occurred. Vegeta wanted to yell at the man to continue already, but he held his tongue for the time being. They needed to seem like they were in control and complete agreement with one another.
"Wh-What do you want? I don't have any money here!"
Auden still didn't respond, and the doctor continued to splutter and shake, looking from Vegeta to Auden multiple times. Vegeta was getting more and more impatient.
"P-Please, d-don't hurt me!" Then suddenly he stopped talking.
Vegeta couldn't see Auden's expression but the man was looking up at him fearfully—there must have been something there that truly frightened him.
"Answer my questions to my satisfaction and you might yet survive this encounter."
Dr. Murran nodded vigorously.
Auden's voice was chillingly calm—too calm for such a tense situation. That might have an added layer of fear from the doctor's perspective. It was probably quite disconcerting. Throwing him off his balance—was that the plan with all of this so far? Clearly, he was bluffing about him surviving the encounter. Dr. Murran's life was forfeit the moment Auden discovered his location, but giving captors hope often made them more cooperative. That was easy enough to deduce even by someone who hadn't done anything like this before.
"You were Malachi's personal physician, correct?"
"Y-Yes, I was from the very beginning. I'll tell you anything you want to know about him if that's your angle."
"From what age would you say?"
"Well, he only had an estimated birthdate, but I'd say he was ten or eleven at the time."
"That's quite young. Usually, one would change their doctor once they come of age, but you remained. You insisted that it worked out that way."
"Not only me. His father as well, trusted me with his life."
"Well, let's hope that trust wasn't misplaced."
"It wasn't, I swear. I did all I could for Malachi to keep him in good health for as long as possible."
"I'm sure you think you did, doctor."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Vegeta was already fully invested into this line of questioning. At the moment, Auden seemed focused on Malachi and these were things he'd wanted to confirm with Dr. Murran as well. Auden was doing his job for him.
"How was he when you did your first examination?"
"Oh, he was in bad shape. The orphanage hadn't been a good place for him—stunted growth, terrible hygiene, a lingering cold, emotional issues. But it wasn't just from the orphanage. It was from his adoptive father as well. He'd been living with him for a few months and yet he seemed in poor health. I made sure he received the proper care."
"Had you ever seen anything like that when you first saw Malachi?"
"Not in my practice. Not at all. I have plenty of other high-profile celebrity patients and to see that sort of suffering on such a level was—it took me by surprise. Some of it was easy to treat, but other conditions weren't so easy and I had to refer him to other doctors."
"Do you think he trusted you?"
"He was timid at first. Didn't trust doctors but that was to be expected. By the third visit, I developed a good rapport with the child."
"Better than with your other clients?"
"Well, he was a child and I usually took on adults. He was quite well-spoken, very intelligent, very engaging for one so young."
"You had a certain affection for him."
"Yes, I would say so."
"And how far did that go?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you love him?"
"What are you getting at? I liked him as a friend."
"Are you sure it wasn't anything…deeper?"
"I don't know who you think I am, but no self-respecting adult—
"Did you love him? Let me remind you that only satisfactory answers will keep you alive."
Dr. Murran swallowed hard and Vegeta watched him steadily.
"P-Perhaps you could say that I loved him more than what was…professional. In our consultations, we would talk for hours. He'd want to stay with me because he couldn't stand being with his father. And sometimes…I forgot I was talking to a child. If you'd met him at the time, you'd understand! He was isolated and craved affection from anyone who could give it. To have someone so invested in you—do you know how that feels like? He told me everything about himself and I, in turn, did the same. But nothing happened between us, I swear! Nothing weird like that. But I admit that I did love him. I loved him as a child. I loved him even more as an adult. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Vegeta looked at him disgusted and Dr. Murran looked away from him when he glanced his way.
"It's important that we establish your deep affection with Malachi and how long that was the case. I'm glad you never acted on your salacious thoughts while he was a child. That takes quite some restraint, but I would strongly suggest seeing someone about that before you do something regretful."
"It was just with Malachi—he was one of a kind."
"We all think certain individuals are one of a kind until we meet someone else similar enough. It happens, doctor."
Dr. Murran huffed. "I am not some pedo—
"Please, doctor. I think we all know the obvious here. Let's move on. Malachi had a drug problem, didn't he?"
"Not initially, but as an adult, he found other less than safe ways to deal with his ongoing depression and likely repressed memories. There were always holes and inconsistencies with his memories and they began to bother him more and more the older he got. As much as I tried to have discussions with him outside of his psychiatrist at the time, he never really opened up in those regards. And he drifted away from me, spending time with other people who didn't have his best interest at heart."
"He was betraying your trust."
"N-No not betraying so much as not respecting our relationship."
"Maybe you liked him more than he ever liked you."
Dr. Murran frowned at him. "He was a glutton for punishment. He wanted to leave the nest so-to-say as quickly as possible because of his terrible father and experience things way too fast. Emotionally, I don't think he was ever ready for the kind of life he was forced to live due to his fame. He would say that he found enjoyment in it, but at the same time it was damaging to him—physically and mentally. Yet he stopped seeing his psychiatrist claiming that it was a waste of time and that he just wanted to have fun. So he did what he did best and began ignoring the bad parts of himself and pretending as if all was well—even to me. He was forever putting on a performance that would never end. He was forever fooling people into thinking he was better than he really was. It worked out quite well when the lights were shining and the cameras wouldn't leave, but outside of that, it was really quite detrimental to his health."
"Throughout that time, he used recreational drugs to cope."
"He tried to anyway. I wouldn't let him. I made sure he used a higher grade of medication safely whenever he thought it was needed."
"Dr. Feel Good."
"I resent that title!"
"I'm sure he paid you enough money for you to never feel the need to ween him off."
"I couldn't, even though I tried multiple times. He wasn't ready. He would always have the worst withdrawals and then beg me for more."
"You liked that, didn't you?"
"What? Of course not!"
"Him needing you like that. Him seeing you again on a more frequent basis."
"No!"
"Yes!" Auden said losing his cool for just a second. The doctor quieted immediately. "You could have your own special relationship once again with Malachi. You could have him open up to you again whilst you have him completely drugged up and far more pliable."
"I was doing what I thought he needed."
"At some point, he was so severely compromised mentally that he could barely sleep—his brain simply wouldn't allow him to do so. He came to you for help and you wound up killing him instead."
Dr. Murran didn't have a quick response this time. Vegeta watched the obvious signs of a guilty man trying to come up with an excuse. So it was true. Malachi's death was at the hands of his own doctor. His hands tensed up. It would be so easy now just to kill him. This was all he had wanted to know. It wasn't Bra. It was this doctor who should have stopped while he was ahead. Malachi trusted the wrong person with his life. Besides, this was definitely far better than thinking the worst about his daughter and how her actions contributed to his death. Maybe if he'd told Jensen, he might finally forgive her.
"I-I—H-He—Look, I messed up. I wasn't fully informed on the other medication he was already on that didn't work well with the drugs I was giving him to make him unconscious for a short while. I really couldn't help him, but he insisted on me doing the same sort of thing which had been done during his touring. He was so pitiful and it was the dead of night and…he threatened to kill himself more than once. I don't know if he was bluffing or not, but I knew that he was truly desperate for some relief. So I came to salvage the situation. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…I should have monitored him closer. I panicked when I saw him flatline—the CPR was all wrong, I didn't want to get in trouble, I thought I could bring him back on my own, but I couldn't. I just couldn't!" Dr. Murran was visibly shedding tears at the moment.
Vegeta crossed his arms now trembling with anger, watching the events unfold in his mind. Malachi completely helpless and his piss-poor doctor failing miserable without enough backbone to tell him no. Was it true, however? Had Malachi truly been suicidal? That didn't seem like him. Why would he want that? He was a fighter, wasn't he? He wasn't susceptible to such thoughts. He simply wasn't.
"I didn't mean for any of that to happen," he blubbered. "Quint helped me cover it all up. He saved my medical license. I'd lost my very best friend that day."
"Somehow, doctor, I don't believe you were all that shaken up about it."
"You can't tell me how I feel like! I was completely distraught. I—had to take many months to myself to even recover."
"Someone who you loved deeply had long since outgrew your affection. He no longer needed it. He'd started a family elsewhere. His heart was far, far away from you well out of your grasp. You paid him back for his betrayal. You lied to yourself saying you were helping him, but any doctor worth anything knows that if you're actually trying to help someone with drug addiction, you don't give them more of it or easy access. You don't give in to their every whim. Even if it earned you his ire, you were supposed to rehabilitate him. You were supposed to convince him that it was better that he did. Instead, you egged him on so that you could increase that dependence you long since lost from him. And if you couldn't have him. No one else would."
"No!" Instead of tears now, he seemed belligerent.
"The time is long past for lies, Dr. Murran. Admit it to yourself."
"Who the hell are you anyway? Some rabid Malachi fan trying to get an exposé?"
"I'm the guy who still holds your life in my hands. I need you to answer to my satisfaction. That's very important, you understand?"
Dr. Murran took a deep breath and then closed his eyes with a nod. "You're right. I lost my way a long time ago and I was barely holding on by a thread. And Malachi—he was that thread. He was my inspiration, my life. It's been snapped. What I've been doing since then—I'm not entirely proud of, but I still have my goals. I want to reach them before I die."
"Understandable, I suppose, from your perspective. You have such noble goals you strive for and yet it's taken so long for you to even get this far. I've taken the time to research your background quite thoroughly, Dr. Murran. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that your life turned out as it has. I still have more questions for you, but let's take a break for now, shall we?"
"Yes, please," Dr. Murran said relieved.
"Let's hope you're more cooperative when I come back. Unfortunately, you're on quite shaky grounds. Questioning me, arguing back at me, raising your voice, having me repeat myself. Tsk, tsk. Don't make me work so hard next time, alright? I would hate for your pride to do you in."
The man nodded vigorously and didn't say another word. Auden then slapped the duct tape back on his face much to the doctor's dismay and Vegeta's amusement. With this, Auden turned. He gave Vegeta an incomprehensible look as he strolled out of the room. Vegeta decided that it was best if he followed him just in case. Auden made his way down the hall before sighing heavily and sliding down to the floor. Maybe he needed a break more than the doctor.
"Having second thoughts about killing him?" Vegeta asked.
His head was in his hands. "No, I'm just tired. I hope I'm doing this right. I'm tired of talking to him. I just want to kill him already." He looked up at him with cold eyes. "It's getting more difficult stopping myself from doing it."
"Hmph, you and me both. I probably wouldn't have even made it this far. It's tiring just watching."
"I had to question him about Malachi first. Aster's death stems from all of that along with his own personal goals."
"What? To save the world one patient at a time?"
"No—you'll hear it soon enough. I'll have him say it in his own words," he said with a subtle grin.
"How did you make him shut up before when you first started," Vegeta asked thinking back.
Auden took a moment to realize what he was referring to. "Oh, that? I just smiled at him when he wasn't expecting it. He knows that what's good for me won't be good for him."
Hm, maybe I should smile more… "That's one way to do it."
"I'm guessing you'd do things differently."
"Let's just say that there would be a lot more pain and screaming."
"Do you honestly think you'd get reliable answers out of someone so compromised?"
"Maybe not, but it would be more entertaining."
"It certainly would. I don't think he quite believes that his life is in danger, but he's taking the proper precautions just in case. I've given him an easy out anyway. Just answer my questions and it's done. He can move on with his life's pursuit. It's not the first time he's given out confidential patient information for gain."
For a few minutes longer, Auden gathered himself. His expression at first weary eventually returned to its usual neutrality. He was ready once again. They walked down the hall together, but Vegeta allowed Auden to enter first so that Dr. Murran could continue to think that Auden was the biggest threat.
Auden snatched the duct tape off again to a now whimpering doctor who likely couldn't do too many more duct tape snatchings. "Hope you're feeling more open and talkative." He was leaning on the desk as he had before.
"Y-Yes, of course. I'll tell you anything, anything at all."
"That's what I like to hear." Auden took this time to turn and sit on the desk with feet still on the ground. His back was to the doctor and his eyes were trained on the floor as he wore a pensive mask. Now all Dr. Murran had to look at was Auden's back and Vegeta's perpetually pissed expression. He visibly gulped.
"Your family has a long history of dealing with cancer later on in life, don't they?"
"They do. My own mother had—
"Breast cancer. I know. Along with two of your aunts. Your father stomach cancer. Your grandfather, cervical cancer. The list goes on."
"You say it so flippantly like—
"It's a sad story, I know."
"How would you know?"
"Questioning me again, I see."
"I'm sorry…I just—That took me by surprise."
"It's personal, I understand. I don't claim to know specifically how you would feel in that situation, but I can make an educated guess. You have quite the large family as well."
"Yep, always have."
"One by one, they die and you find yourself at more and more funerals. Friends and family die around you even as you study to learn medicine. Everyone seems so weak."
"Well, I wouldn't quite say it like that, but, yes, we humans do seem fragile compared to other hardier forms of life out there. Our lifespans might be a hundred years if we're lucky and so many of us succumb to our diseases before our time. Even training to become stronger can be detrimental to us. Our bones break so easily. We get sick on a regular basis. Our immune systems could be even better but improving that would cause our own bodies to attack itself. It's an uphill battle bettering the human condition."
"Then tell me, doctor. What are your goals and do you think you've reached them?"
"All I want to do is unlock the full potential of human beings. I want us to overcome all these inconveniences to become powerful beings more in control of our own lives."
"Admirable."
"Ever since studying medicine, I've been working towards that and I made some progress back then."
"Ah, yes. Finding treatment and cures to various incurable diseases including Lupus."
"Yes, Lupus and Asthma. My biggest achievement. I wanted to do more though."
"You thought you made a major breakthrough when you studied Malachi's bloodwork."
"Major might even be too little a word to describe. Somehow, his body had transformed. His very genetic code had changed. Every single attribute that relates to the body had improved significantly. Selfishly, Malachi had drank from the well of youth and health without telling anyone. When I questioned him, all he said was that he was training himself. It had to be more than that. Gaining muscles aside, his health had never been so good before. It didn't do much to allay the effects of heavy drug use unfortunately. He was compromised because of that. But if I tweaked things just a little, it would account for that as well."
"You found the holy grail and you wanted to mass produce it."
"Yes, I had to extract it from his blood and turn it into a formula that could be consumed. Shortly after his death, I was able to perfect the formulation. I had unlocked human potential, or at least, I would once everyone partook of it. I wanted the human race to be transformed permanently."
"Even if you had to break a few laws."
"Laws always stymie progress. I went around it because I knew it was effective."
"Did you try it on yourself?"
"There wouldn't be a point to doing that. I was diagnosed with cancer last year—I'm sure you must know that with all your researching. It's public knowledge. I announced it on my social media. That formula I dubbed Vigor Enhancer does not cure diseases and cancer. Malachi's condition is optimal for a starting point, but when someone is born with those enhancements, it makes them immune to incurable diseases and they are much stronger than their parents. My suspicions were confirmed with Jensen, but he seems to be a special case. There's a piece of the puzzle still missing."
"Yet your formula is 100% safe and works? You've already went ahead with your plans."
"What I had was good enough."
"What you had has placed everyone in grave danger. Did you account for the emotional changes?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you account for spikes in infant mortality?"
"N-No, what are you talking about? I have single-handedly made all of us stronger and more capable."
"You've become quite sloppy in your research and experimentations. You wanted something so badly that you overlooked all the negative consequences."
"I am trying to save lives. Maybe you're not willing to sacrifice as much as I am."
"You've fallen to levels of stupidity I thought were impossible for a person in your line of work. You are still missing a major piece of the puzzle, but I won't be revealing that to you today especially considering what you've done with the information you do have."
"I don't believe you. You're bluffing! How could you, some lay person, know more than me on the topic?"
"Like I said before, I've done some research. So, you wanted Jensen so that you could study him more thoroughly because your formula may not have been as reliable as you fooled yourself into thinking. How did you plan on doing that?"
"Well, I couldn't very well do it myself," he said after a pause.
Auden must have known that Dr. Murran would likely take offense to what he said before the question, but he was testing the doctor. He was training him to obedient. The doctor rightly decided to answer rather than engage Auden further in objections. Or maybe Vegeta was looking too far into it.
"I hired some professionals to bring him to me. I paid quite a bit of money."
"Did you care about potential casualties?"
"I wasn't aware there were any."
"Oh, there were some and they seemed careless about cleaning things up."
"Is that why you're here then?"
"Questioning me again? It's almost like you don't care to see the next day."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just—
"Did you care about potential casualties?"
"I didn't think there would be any. Of course, I want the minimal amount of people getting hurt. Of course."
"Of course," he repeated mockingly. "Two older women were found drowned in the nearby pond and there was a young woman as well—mutilated beyond recognition."
"I'm so sorry. I was never told any of that!"
"You chose a shady company with a questionable reputation because you were asking for something illegal. You set things in motion. You are directly responsible for those deaths."
"No! It wasn't me! It was them!"
"I'm talking to you right now. You are the one responsible."
"No!"
"Yes!" Auden shouted as he turned to look at him directly now. "Don't make me repeat myself."
"Okay…alright. I asked for Jensen to be captured alive. That was me. But—" He stopped when Auden tilted his head slightly.
"You didn't bother to do a background check on the criminals who you paid to do your biddings. You didn't care to. It would have costed you extra to make sure that no one else was harmed. That was the contract, and you chose the cheapest option available. Cutting corners again as usual. You could have avoided this whole thing had you been more careful and more mindful of the lives you're so casually discarding."
"How do you…"
"Hm? Is that another question for me?"
"N-No," the man said shaking his head.
"Is there a cure to the disease you've rashly decided to unleash upon everyone?"
"A cure?" he said confused. "There is no cure for progress. We don't need one. I have singlehandedly led our species to an evolution that heavily favors our longevity."
"That is if we don't all kill each other first," Auden said drily. "Well, that marks the end of my questioning unless my friend here wants to add anything," he said standing and glancing back at Vegeta.
Vegeta shrugged briefly effectively giving him leave to do whatever he saw fit to do next. Auden responded with a quick nod.
"You did very poorly, unfortunately," Auden began looking at the frightened doctor. The man was shaking uncontrollably now. "I hated having to repeat myself. Dragging information out of you served little in terms of entertainment, but I don't want our time together to be a complete waste." Auden slowly advanced upon him.
Vegeta wasn't exactly sure what Auden had in mind, but it certainly wasn't what he saw next. Auden made his way around the desk and pushed the rolling chair further back so that there was nothing blocking his body. Vegeta moved so that he could get a better view as Auden slipped a clean, sharp knife from his pocket—it was more like a dagger and it looked to be sharpened to a point where it could easily slice through flesh. For the next few minutes, all Vegeta heard were shouts of pure terror and visceral pain as Auden carefully sliced through his clothes from his chest down to his torso. The man was still alive screaming shrilly—sounds Vegeta would typically hear in the background of a burning village—as Auden dug his hands in and pulled out whatever organs he found but making sure the intestines were visibly exposed. Blood was starting to pool out and the squishy sound of flesh and the smell of fresh blood filled the air. The doctor fainted but Auden wasn't done yet as he started meticulously ripping into the soft part of his face. It took Vegeta a moment to realize that he was recreating the condition they'd found his daughter in. He didn't bother with the legs, however. He stopped short of that. Instead, he tossed the knife to the ground and held out one of his bloodied palms. Now, he was going to use a ki blast. It was overkill by now, but Vegeta didn't stop him as he shot off several low-powered ki blasts into his legs, chest and face. With each blast they became stronger and stronger. On the last one, he used both hands and burned what was left of his corpse into mostly ashes and melted bone shouting all the while.
Auden stood there now with extended arms and heavy breaths gazing at his work with a cold blank expression. Vegeta couldn't tell if he was satisfied or wanted more. He had no idea what he could possibly be thinking about in that moment.
"Are we done here?" Vegeta finally asked pulling him out his one-sided staring contest.
"Yeah," he said quietly as he let his arms drop to his side.
He'd had no trouble at all. Vegeta hadn't detected any hesitation. It was just like Auden had said it would be. Vegeta wasn't sure if he should be impressed or horrified. His clothes were all bloodied up and the forthrightness from before was gone. Auden didn't wait for further instruction from Vegeta as he quickly made his way past, exiting the lab. Before Vegeta followed in suit, he heard the vomiting and he paused for him to finish with his business. Perhaps it hadn't been so easy for him. Vegeta stepped out only when all was quiet. Auden had walked further out near the cliff and there he rested, sitting on the grass. Vegeta stood nearby but didn't say anything for several long minutes.
"How are you feeling?" Vegeta asked.
"Like we need to get rid of the evidence."
Practical as always. "Is that really what you're thinking about?"
"You were able to vaporize an entire body. Is it possible to destroy an entire building?"
"It wouldn't be very difficult. Even you could do it."
"I couldn't possibly—
"Did you want to try? If you fail, I'll just finish it off."
Auden looked up at him with surprise. "You really think I could manage that?"
"Never know until you try. Besides, you'll never know the limits of your power unless you use it."
Auden climbed to his feet. "Why the hell not? I'll try it."
"Well, it seems like you already know how to bring forth you ki and gather it into one place. Do that now but on a larger scale—like the kind of ki blast you used to down Gohan so easily."
"I see, but I was highly motivated before with Gohan."
"And you're not motivated now?"
Auden began gathering ki without even bothering to answer. It didn't take long for his ki blast to grow to a gigantic size.
"Make sure you're maintaining the shape!" Vegeta shouted over the gusting wind in the presence of the high concentration of energy.
"I-I'm trying!"
"Now! Unleash it now!"
When Auden let go, for some reason, the blast was slightly turned upward. Vegeta struck the ki blast with his arm to push it back on course. Other than that, however, the blast did as intended and completely decimated the building sending it up in flames and smoke. When Vegeta turned back to Auden, he was completely laid out on the ground exhausted.
"Hm, it's almost like you didn't need me at all," Vegeta said to the heavily breathing man looking down at him with a grin.
Auden looked away not at all impressed. He seemed despondent as he stared out into the distance. He didn't appear as if he felt accomplished or even excited. What more did the man require? Vegeta supposed that at the end of the day, his daughter was still dead. He didn't want to even begin to know what that felt like.
"Just gonna' lay here all day?"
"Maybe I will."
"I'm not trying to argue with you."
"I'm being serious. Laying here all day seems like a better plan than any."
"How about going back home?"
He sighed at this. "I don't know what to do with myself. I don't know anymore. I didn't have a plan as to what I was supposed to do after this. He's dead and then nothing. There's nothing. No motivation for anything else. I didn't think I'd get this far honestly."
"You and your death wish again."
"Call it what you want," he said wistfully. "I don't care about anything anymore. No one…needs me anymore…"
Vegeta wanted to grab him and shake some sense into him, but he knew that wouldn't work. He seemed at wit's end. The lifelessness in his eyes were eerie; maybe he was already dead. Was there really nothing else to live for? Was his life so empty and devoid of meaning?
"Let me give you direction," Vegeta said gruffly. "Look at me." He waited patiently for him to look at him directly. He had his full attention now. "I will train you to your fullest potential and you will join me in protecting this planet from outside forces. Live for me a little longer."
There was confusion in his eyes and for a moment, Vegeta didn't think he was taking him seriously, but then he simply nodded. "Alright, since I have nothing better to do."
"Now, let's go and get you cleaned up—you look like some psychotic serial killer from the movies complete with cold, blank expressions."
"Thank you," he said with a subtle grin. "Exactly what I was going for."
Vegeta took one of his hands and helped him to his feet. He decided he'd go with him in the car since he was no longer in a rush. He practically dragged the man to the car and stuffed him into the passenger's seat.
"I'm driving," Vegeta announced.
"Fine," he said nonchalantly as he closed the door.
Vegeta jumped in the car and started up the engine after Auden handed him the key. He glanced over at Auden who was staring forlornly out the window.
"I feel a lot weaker than I expected. I guess doing those ki blasts takes a lot out of a person."
"Only when they're inexperienced and trying to destroy entire buildings."
Auden snorted at this. "Point taken. I don't think it's a good idea to go back to my place though. Chi-Chi's probably there. I don't want her to see me like this."
"Oh, so you care about her opinion."
"I'd like to avoid the 21 questions and the yelling when she finds out I agreed to your training."
"I thought you two were—
"We're just friends. Simple as that. She just wanted to get out of the house for a while, I guess."
From the sound of his voice, Vegeta could tell that it was a sore subject, so he dropped it.
"There's no cure," Auden said after a while. "I don't know why I thought that man had all the answers. He was insane and soon we'll all be joining him." His head leaned on the window and his eyes stared downward at nothing in particular—the picture of being deep in thought.
"Humans are nothing if not resilient. Many brilliant minds are now trying to ease the symptoms."
"I don't want to have to take more medication," he said miserably. "I don't want the same thing that happened to Chi-Chi to happen to me. I-I can't imagine…"
"Hey, the only thing we can do is take things one step at a time. You're fine now as far as I'm concerned. Focus on that."
"Always living life in the moment, huh? Is that how you ignore the looming bleakness of the future?"
"Don't be so dramatic—it's not that bad. What do you have against taking something if it would help you in the end?"
"Because everything becomes so hazy. I'm not in full control of myself." He sat up a little straighter so that he could return to looking at the passing foliage. "Sometimes," he began quietly, "I want to experience myself fully without any buffer. Whatever happens as a result afterwards, just happens."
"And if that results in putting others in danger?"
"I don't care. Why should I care? No one else does. People die everyday and we punish the people who do the killing—at least some of them anyway. We never care to cure the underlying issues, we just punish and move on. Maybe it's because no one really cares if someone dies, they just want relief from their pain."
"Auden."
"Yes?"
"Are you off your meds?"
He chuckled at this. "Of course not, I'm a decent, law-abiding citizen who complies with his doctor mostly."
Vegeta couldn't tell if he was lying or not. The difficulty in reading him lied in his very steady heartbeat even when there should be some quickening when he was happy or sad—the changes were subtle at best. He certainly didn't emote very well at all so there was no signs for him to interpret.
"I…didn't want to bring this up since you seem like an impatient man, but I'm parched. A nice, cold bottle of water would be lovely right now."
"Prolonged interrogations can do that to you. If I see an exit, I'll take it."
"Really?"
"Really. What sort of a monster do you think I am? We still have hours left. You think I'd leave you thirsty for that long when it's an easy problem to address?"
"I wasn't sure," he said with a shrug.
"Hmph," Vegeta said shaking his head. "Perhaps you have the wrong impression of me. You've been listening to Chi-Chi too long."
"Maybe I have."
"That missing piece of the puzzle you were talking to the doctor about. What exactly were you referring to anyway?"
"Oh, you already know it, I'm sure. The fact that Malachi's changes were brought on by an entity that wasn't of this world. He never knew that. If he did, perhaps he'd been more cautious about using the information for his 'evolution'."
"How did you find out?"
"I did tell you I hacked into CC databases, right? Bulma stores her information there since it's so highly secure. I would too if I were in her shoes. It was a being who called itself Laputa which plagued Malachi's very existence for quite some time before leaving a permanent mark on him after it was fully subdued."
"Accurate. Bulma continued to monitor Malachi even after the apparent signs of possession were gone. Eventually, she concluded that its effects were not negatively impacting him in any way aside for the dramatic increase in pregnancy risk that we discovered well after the fact."
"When you're only working with part of the information, you're bound to make mistakes as was the case for the doctor who saw what he wanted to see in his research."
"So, the existence of aliens doesn't seem to bother you."
"It's not exactly a foreign topic. It's well within the bounds of possibilities considering what we know of how Earth came to be and the realization that there exists countless circumstances in which the same conditions could have occurred elsewhere. The likelihood exists, but admittedly there's been no confirmation. I think I might have found that with Laputa."
"And did you find any information about me when you were diving into those databases?"
"No information whatsoever, which is a bit of a red flag, but you weren't on my radar."
"I came to live on this planet many years ago," Vegeta began. He felt Auden's gaze slowly turn towards him. "My home was destroyed and I found myself here eventually. It's a long and involved story but it ended up with me staying here, starting a family, and acclimating, I guess." He glanced over at Auden who was just staring in wonderment. For some reason, Vegeta thought he'd take it a little better, but he seemed genuinely shocked. He felt his eyes rummage over him a few times before Vegeta gave him a hard look that didn't seem to perturb him.
"Th-That's incredible! Now it makes sense why you keep referring to others as 'humans' all the time. I was wondering about that. You're—what are you called?"
"Saiyan," Vegeta said singularly. He kept his eyes on the road trying to ignore his gaze, but he didn't seem to get the message. "You look like you want to place me into a petri dish."
"That's for the biologists," he said, "I'm just a humble computer scientist who hacks into too many secure databases."
Soon the interest subsided as he returned his gaze to the window much to Vegeta's relief. At least that was over with now.
"I can't believe I've agreed to be trained by you. You'll break me in half and leave me in a ditch somewhere to die."
"I've trained plenty of humans before. Relax. You're not a guinea pig—well, not entirely."
Auden sighed at this. "I've sold my soul to the Devil."
"The drama is starting to kill me slowly, Auden."
"Karma has decided to rear its ugly head!"
Vegeta groaned.
"It's as if the very ground beneath me has opened up and I'm in constant freefall until I make a fatal, crash landing."
"Will you quit it, Auden? There might be some pain associated, but it won't kill you."
Auden chuckled at this. "I'm only teasing."
He leaned his head on the window again. This time when Vegeta glanced over, his eyes seemed unfocused likely not thinking of anything in particular. After a while, Auden seemed to fall asleep unable to keep his eyes open for much longer. Aside from a few quiet moans, it was a peaceful rest as Vegeta continued down the narrow road.
Eventually, the private road turned into the main highway. An exit would be coming up soon. He'd be able to get Auden his water. Then it should be smooth sailing from there. They'd go to his place where he could get cleaned up and then afterwards, he wasn't entirely sure. It would probably be a little later on in the day. He wanted to start training Auden as soon as possible but he was still debating with himself when it should start. He'd check with Bulma to see where she was with searching for the dragon balls and if she still intended on sending him to get them. Pan had expressed interest as well, but Bulma didn't like the idea of Bra being left alone for an extended amount of time considering her mental state and that she was still healing from her loss. Sending Pan and Bra didn't seem like the best idea either since they were just now starting to spend time with the kids. Their other friends were potential candidates, but Bulma didn't feel secure sending them. They weren't well-versed in flying spaceships and if the situation turned dangerous, they were less able to defend themselves. Vegeta had a feeling that he'd be going just as originally had been the plan. It would be a simple task for him and he was quite comfortable being out there in space having spent most of his formative years there. He looked forward to it somewhat as it had been a while since he'd been off planet.
Auden had already started snoring though he appeared to be in quite an uncomfortable position. Would it not have been easier to just lean his seat back so that he could lay down? He was certainly an odd one as his name ironically suggested—at least phonetically. Vegeta wondered about the intense nightmares he'd been having before and how often they reoccurred. He hoped he'd be free from them for the time being.
Once he made it to an exit, he headed to the nearest gas station to buy water as promised. It was only as he sat back down in the driver's seat that Auden was jolted back to wakefulness as if an alarm had been set off.
"What's wrong?" Vegeta asked mystified.
"…Nothing," he said slowly taking in his surroundings. "I guess I thought I was somewhere else for a moment. Anyways, you come bearing gifts."
Vegeta handed him the plastic bag and the other took it gratefully into his lap. He closed the door and started the car up once again.
"Geez, did you get enough water?" Auden asked parsing through the several bottles he'd gotten.
"Thought you might appreciate it."
"Well, thank you. It's very thoughtful of you."
"Don't mention it."
Auden's eyes lingered on him a bit longer before fully engaging with the plastic bag again. He ended up chugging down three bottles before having his fill and setting the bag on the floor near him. Vegeta learned long ago how essential water was for humans—it was apparently more important than food. They're cells required it for continued activity. Energy seemed to have returned to Auden as he sat straighter in his seat.
"You're way nicer than you let on," Auden said after a while.
Vegeta snorted at this but made no further response.
"Even if you are the guy who had no problem with me killing someone in cold blood."
"He had it coming. If you didn't do it, I would."
"Is that what defending Earth entails?"
"It's a last resort, but sometimes we have to use our own discretion on people. I'm not like Kakarot. I don't think every person can change and I don't like taking unnecessary risks."
"That makes sense. Although, I'm afraid my own judgement is a little impaired most days."
"Better to think that than to assume you're always right."
"Right."
Auden's gaze had returned to his window after it had been trained on the windshield for a little while.
"Auden, what exactly do you have against my wife?"
He looked at him with surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. I know you don't have the highest opinion of her."
"I'm surprised you don't know. You two seemed like the type who tell each other everything."
"We might tell each other things about ourselves, but not about other people. We're not into gossiping."
"Well, that's nice to know."
"Are you too embarrassed to share?"
"I don't want to upset you."
"I'm surprisingly understanding—sometimes."
Auden chuckled clearly amused. "Oh, only sometimes? I'm sold." He paused but then continued. "I knew Bulma a long time ago back in grade school. She was quite popular as you can imagine—it was hard not to have known of her. She was a celebrity who went to a public school which is still controversial even to this day. I knew who she was well before she ever paid me any mind. It wasn't until high school until she noticed I existed. I wished she hadn't."
"Is that it?" Vegeta asked when he didn't say anything for a long passing moment.
He shook his head 'no' slowly. "She got on my last set of nerves most of the time, but still she was interesting in her own respect and easy to talk to about science. I hated that she noticed me all the time, but I was grateful when she helped me in ways no one else had done before. I felt indebted to her even when I wanted nothing more to do with her. She used to…" He paused again and fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.
"I don't care what you two did," Vegeta said with some annoyance at his hesitance. "I have no stake in it. It was long ago. I'm just curious. She rarely talks about what her life was like before meeting Kakarot."
Vegeta noticed his weary look but he remained painfully quiet for almost a full minute before Vegeta growled with irritation.
"Alright," he said quietly. "What do I have to lose anyway?" he said in a tone that suggested he'd given up completely.
It was something that irked Vegeta further, but he stopped himself from telling him off. He seemed about to finally speak on something that was probably quite private.
"After she spoke to me a few times, Bulma made it her mission to 'fix' me, to 'pull me out of my shell'. In reality, she pursued me relentlessly for a relationship more than friendship because no man could resist her charms. I wasn't playing hard to get—it wasn't some sort of game for me. I just wasn't interested and for some reason, I could never get her to believe that. I was the shy boy who needed to be shown the ropes. All throughout high school, she would molest and abuse me over and over again because she thought she knew better than me. There was one incident she seems to remember vividly—a time at the lockers when no one else was around, she tried to kiss me. She apologized for that recently. That's nice, I suppose, but it wasn't the only time something like that happened even if she wants to pretend as if that's the case. Sorry, but if I never heard her voice again or saw her face, I wouldn't miss it in a million years."
The car swerved a little as Vegeta looked over at Auden willing him to look him in the eyes—instead, his eyes were stubbornly turned away from him. "When I left Bulma with you thinking she might calm you better than I did that time when your ki was out of control, I was just making matters worse," Vegeta said thinking back. "That sounds really shitty. I can see why you never want to come around the place. I'll…let Bulma know how serious you are about not wanting to see her. She can be very stubborn."
"But—
Vegeta glanced over when he stopped himself. "What is it?"
"But how will I ever repay her? She's done a lot for me."
"Starting now, whatever debt you think you have to her is completely null and void. You don't need to be her friend. You don't need to be at her beck-and-call. You don't need to be anything to her. It's done. I'll talk to her and she'll understand."
"Vegeta, why would you do all this? Aren't you upset? I'm just adding complication where there wasn't any before."
"For your mental wellbeing first of all. Knowing all this, it makes no sense to let things stand as they are. I'm not upset. It just seems that perhaps I wasn't the only one who was an asshole in the distant past. As for adding complication—it was already there. It's just being acknowledged now. And, Auden, I want you to trust me. You won't become strong in mind and body when you're not at peace with yourself."
Auden who'd been looking at him intently turned away quickly when Vegeta uttered his last sentence. It was a clear sign that he likely wasn't at peace, but there was no need to keep grilling him for personal information. He'd told him a lot already. In time, Vegeta suspected that there would be more to say. He doubted that this was the cause of his nightmares especially since it had nothing to do with handcuffs.
"We still have a couple hours to go," Vegeta said in the growing silence. "Make yourself comfortable."
Auden simply nodded and left it at that. The next time he went to sleep a half an hour later, he leaned back his seat so that he could do so comfortably. Vegeta was soon surrounded by the sounds of peaceful slumber for the remainder of the trip. It was a shame he had to wake him at the end of it since he seemed so restful. In the sort of daze one might be in after being tragically torn away from a deep sleep, Auden followed him inside. Vegeta led him to the nearest shower and gave him a change of clothes from Dr. Brief's closet—hopefully he wouldn't mind. It fit well enough and Auden seemed refreshed from the activities from earlier.
"Well, I doubt you want to stay here for long, so I have nothing further for you. I need to figure out a few details before your training begins, but be ready," Vegeta told him as they stood in the hallway that led to the main entrance of the house.
"Yeah, I guess I should be getting home soon."
Vegeta noticed immediately that he wasn't very enthused about it. What did the man want? Did he want to stay here where Bulma would eventually appear or go home where Chi-Chi likely was?
"Don't take too long figuring things out," Auden said ominously as he turned from him. "I'll be all yours when you decide to start this training."
Vegeta gave his retreating form a confused look as he parsed through his strange phrasing that could probably roughly be translated to: he was ready to dedicate his full attention on training since it was the only thing motivating him to keep living. And, on that note, that was another thing to consider. He probably needed to start training him soon. He hoped getting the dragon balls wouldn't put a monkey wrench in his plans.
After spending an extended amount of time with Auden, Vegeta was able to fully confirm that the man was insane. He still couldn't determine just how much he actually cared about other people. His overarching view on the world was also indeterminate. Did he like that there was society in the first place or did he secretly want to burn it all down? All of these things were probably red flags but…Vegeta liked those things about him. Only time would tell if he was making the right decision nurturing his fighting prowess or if he was even appropriate for the role of a defender. For some reason though, he liked the idea of having someone like that on his side.